Trent Harris' LUNA MESA Takes A Bow At Raindance

American cult director Trent Harris takes a bow at the Raindance Festival tonight with the world premiere of his latest film, Luna Mesa. Harris has become something of a cult icon thanks to his signature style - fusing raw, sometimes almost primitive production values with the sort of experimentation seen more often in gallery installations than narrative features - and while his latest effort is somewhat more polished than past work it is still an idiosyncratic, deeply personal work that resists easy review. So consider this more of a summary.

Shot on consumer grade cameras and partially narrated by a dead man, Luna Mesa tells the story of that man's lover - Luna - and her odyssey after she discovers him dead in a Cambodian hotel room. Yes, it's really shot in Cambodia with other segments shot in Mexico, Sierra Leone and Rwanda - a bit of authentic gorilla action there - as Luna tries to reconstruct her lover's life based only n the cryptic journal he left behind.

Harris - and, by extension, this film - is clearly not for everybody but there is simply nobody else quite like him. He's an original talent and whether you love him or hate him it's awfully hard to ignore him. Take a look at the trailer below.

More about Luna Mesa

I've been a fan ever since Rubin and Ed! Being in China, I emailed him about getting a copy of Rubin and Ed on DVD and he responded and we corresponded! What a treat to see his name here. This looks like some Plan 10 From Outer Luna Mesa fun!